xavdid's recent activity
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Comment on What online subscriptions do you pay for? in ~tech
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Comment on What are some good, non-microtransaction riddled mobile games? in ~games
xavdid LinkOne I haven't seen mentioned is Blackbox. It's iOS only and costs a few bucks to unlock the entire game. The first few levels are free. There are no ads at all. It's a puzzle game about exploring...One I haven't seen mentioned is Blackbox. It's iOS only and costs a few bucks to unlock the entire game. The first few levels are free. There are no ads at all.
It's a puzzle game about exploring your phone, but you never have to touch the screen. Each puzzle has to do with some system function or hardware sensor- basically treating it as a little black box.
The puzzles are awesome and the art is delightful. There's also a lot of Easter eggs to find!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
xavdid LinkMostly playing Tactics Ogre: Reborn. I'm enjoying it well enough so far, but it's a little slow. The first few turns if most battles are just inching forward towards the enemy lines. There's also...Mostly playing Tactics Ogre: Reborn. I'm enjoying it well enough so far, but it's a little slow. The first few turns if most battles are just inching forward towards the enemy lines. There's also a lot of micro for equipment and abilities across a ton of characters, which can get tedious.
FFTA is one of my favorite games of all time, so I figured this would be a slam dunk. I'll stick with it, but the story hasn't gripped me yet and I maybe don't have the patience for some of these mechanics that I did as a kid.
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Comment on ‘Rebel canning’ is having a moment, whether or not it should in ~food
xavdid Link ParentMy favorite version of this was raw water, which is extremely foolish. I get that "blindly trust all experts" isn't a great position, but at least some experts actually have, you know, expertise.see also: raw milk
My favorite version of this was raw water, which is extremely foolish. I get that "blindly trust all experts" isn't a great position, but at least some experts actually have, you know, expertise.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
xavdid LinkMy big project recently was the Universal Test Runner. It's goal is to be able to run the unit tests in any repo without any configuration. I've had a small version of it in my dotfiles for years,...My big project recently was the Universal Test Runner. It's goal is to be able to run the unit tests in any repo without any configuration.
I've had a small version of it in my dotfiles for years, but I turned it into an actual project when I started doing a lot more Exercism this year. I even contributed a version of it to their CLI!
I'm really pleased with how it turned out and use it all the time. The only thing it's missing now is much wider language/framework support, but I'm patient.
I also wrote a blog post about the project and some more of the context, which also turned out very well: https://xavd.id/blog/post/run-every-test/
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Comment on What games do you most wish had a remake, or a sequel or both? in ~games
xavdid LinkGotta be Custom Robo. It was a GameCube game where you competed in little top-down 3rd person shooting battles that pit your custom- built robot against up to 3 others. You got new parts as you...Gotta be Custom Robo. It was a GameCube game where you competed in little top-down 3rd person shooting battles that pit your custom- built robot against up to 3 others. You got new parts as you went, so you could tweak individual parts of your loadout (the torso, gun, legs, etc) individually for each battle. Was awesome finding new combos and the story was actually pretty neat.
There was a DS version that got wide release, but nothing since then. I feel like they could really crush it with newer hardware.
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Comment on What upcoming books are you looking forward to? in ~books
xavdid Link ParentIt depends who you ask 😅 The first one is definitely the best, but I've enjoyed them all in their own way.It depends who you ask 😅
The first one is definitely the best, but I've enjoyed them all in their own way.
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Comment on What upcoming books are you looking forward to? in ~books
xavdid LinkI'm ever-hopeful for the continuation of the Gentleman Bastards series. The first (Lies of Locke Lamora) is one of my all time favorites and I'd love to see where the rest of the series takes us.I'm ever-hopeful for the continuation of the Gentleman Bastards series. The first (Lies of Locke Lamora) is one of my all time favorites and I'd love to see where the rest of the series takes us.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
xavdid LinkI'm near the end of Final Fantasy VII: Remake, which is... interesting. I never played the original, so basically everything here is new to me. The pacing is really dreadful- both in the story (it...I'm near the end of Final Fantasy VII: Remake, which is... interesting. I never played the original, so basically everything here is new to me. The pacing is really dreadful- both in the story (it swaps between extremely compelling and clearly filler) and the actual gameplay (you'll do one battle, get to run down a hallway, then be forced to walk around a corner for a cutscene, do that, then have to walk around some more. It never lets you just do your thing.
I'm nearly done and I'll finish, but it feels... wasteful? Hard to pin down. It gets incredibly compelling moments from the original, but doesn't really improve on them.
I don't remember who said it (Zero Punctuation, maybe?), but they suggested "remake mediocre games, not good ones". It's nice to have a fresh coat of paint on older games, but the things that need it the most are games with good ideas that never had their time in the sun. I don't think FFVII falls into that bucket.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
xavdid Link ParentI adored this one. I thought the pacing was great and it really respected the player's time. Great soundtrack and gameplay systems as well.I adored this one. I thought the pacing was great and it really respected the player's time. Great soundtrack and gameplay systems as well.
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Comment on "Layered" music that builds throughout the song? in ~music
xavdid LinkDeath Cab for Cutie's I will Possess your Heart is one of my favorite examples of this. There's a long intro where each instrument comes in one at a time and the song is built from nothing.Death Cab for Cutie's I will Possess your Heart is one of my favorite examples of this. There's a long intro where each instrument comes in one at a time and the song is built from nothing.
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Comment on 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations in ~tv
xavdid LinkI must be missing something with The White Lotus. I just watched both seasons and was left mostly bored? It was right up my alley too, so I'm surprised it didn't click with me. There's a lot of...I must be missing something with The White Lotus. I just watched both seasons and was left mostly bored? It was right up my alley too, so I'm surprised it didn't click with me. There's a lot of good performances, but the story felt unfocused and meandering. The second season was an improvement on the likability of the characters (which, to their credit, are all acted well), but it was still such a slog.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
xavdid Link ParentI feel like 3 years in a row, day 19 has been a big bugbear. Not sure what it is about that day, but it's a toughie.I feel like 3 years in a row, day 19 has been a big bugbear. Not sure what it is about that day, but it's a toughie.
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Comment on Why did you select your username for Tildes? in ~talk
xavdid LinkThis is my username for everything, so it was an easy choice. The name itself was a reference to Kingdom Hearts, where characters have an evil(?) duplicate who shares their name, but with an x in...This is my username for everything, so it was an easy choice.
The name itself was a reference to Kingdom Hearts, where characters have an evil(?) duplicate who shares their name, but with an
xin it. My friend came up with this years ago and I've used it for basically everything since. -
Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
xavdid LinkI've had two big projects this summer so far: reddit-user-to-sqlite lets you export data about your reddit user to a structured database format. This got a ton of attention all at once and I've...I've had two big projects this summer so far:
- reddit-user-to-sqlite lets you export data about your reddit user to a structured database format. This got a ton of attention all at once and I've got some improvements to catch up on. I'm also writing a blog post about the day this hit the top of HN
- universal-test-runner is a fun utility that aims to run unit tests without configuration in any project. It's about where I want it to be for now (until I get requests to add more languages, which I'm very open to). The exciting next step is that I'm adding this functionality to the Exercism CLI, which will let language learners on (nearly) every one of their tracks run unit tests without having to remember the command. That part needs a little more testing work.
Other than those, next up is probably trying to knock out the last few Advent of Code puzzles from last year and completing my solution writeups for each day.
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Comment on What game is your current addiction? in ~games
xavdid LinkOddly enough, I've been super into Retro Bowl this week. I don't even really care about (American) football, but it's so fun to build up a team and sling the ball around. It's on Apple Arcade...Oddly enough, I've been super into Retro Bowl this week. I don't even really care about (American) football, but it's so fun to build up a team and sling the ball around.
It's on Apple Arcade (though I think it's also on the wider app store).
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Comment on What game is your current addiction? in ~games
xavdid Link ParentShapez is great as a complement to Factorio (the gold standard in this genre). IMO, it simplifies the right things while still being challenging and engaging in the right ways.Shapez is great as a complement to Factorio (the gold standard in this genre). IMO, it simplifies the right things while still being challenging and engaging in the right ways.
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Comment on New users: Ask your questions about Tildes here! (v2) in ~tildes
xavdid Link ParentYeah, that makes sense. Emails is a tough business and less user data is certainly the way to go.Yeah, that makes sense. Emails is a tough business and less user data is certainly the way to go.
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Comment on New users: Ask your questions about Tildes here! (v2) in ~tildes
xavdid Link ParentFair, that's great context. Thanks! I just don't want anyone to get lost in the shuffle.Fair, that's great context. Thanks! I just don't want anyone to get lost in the shuffle.
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Comment on New users: Ask your questions about Tildes here! (v2) in ~tildes
xavdid LinkIs there a way to get an email (or other outbound notification) when someone has replied to my comment? I don't check tildes all that much, so it's nice to know if someone is waiting on a reply....Is there a way to get an email (or other outbound notification) when someone has replied to my comment? I don't check tildes all that much, so it's nice to know if someone is waiting on a reply.
There's HN Replies which does basically exactly what I want (in absence of notifications over there), but that's powered by the API (which Tildes doesn't seem to have).
The problem with this is that it ruins it for everyone. Sure, people from wealthier countries can get super cheap games / YT / whatever this way. But once enough people do it, Nintendo/Steam/Google notices and drops the cheaper pricing, effectively locking the country (Turkey, Argentina, etc) out of the service. If you can't pay then pirate, but don't ruin it for people who literally can't afford it.